Kerala Declares Itself Free From Extreme Poverty, First Indian State To Do So

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday declared that the state was free from extreme poverty, becoming the first Indian state to declare so. He made the announcement in a special session of the House convened on the occasion of Kerala 'Piravi' or formation day.

Vijayan, who called this year’s Kerala Piravi the birth of a new era for Kerala, spoke at length about the four-year long process that led to the declaration. The Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) boycotted the session and questioned the state government's decision to convene a special session just for the Chief Minister to make a statement under Rule 300 of the house procedures. 

Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan said that the CM's statement via rule 300 was "pure fraud" and in "contempt" of House rules. "So, we cannot join in that and are completely boycotting the session," Satheesan said. The opposition then walked out of the House shouting slogans that the claim was a "fraud" and that it was "shameful".

Vijayan, however, refuted the opposition’s claims and said that the implementation of the Extreme Poverty Alleviation Project (EPEP) was a decision taken in the first Cabinet meeting of the current Left Democratic Front (LDF) in 2021.

“We only make promises we can fulfil and we have fulfilled what we promised,” he said. He also stated that the UDF was referring to its own behaviour when they say "fraud".

The process of eradicating extreme poverty is a continuation of the steps taken earlier for the universal public distribution system and for the eradication of landlessness and homelessness. Kerala has made remarkable progress in the Sustainable Development Index envisioned by the United Nations by eradicating extreme poverty. Our State is a laboratory for many welfare activities. In terms of extreme poverty alleviation too, we can hope that our experiments will become a model that other states in the country can benefit from. This proud achievement belongs to the entire people of Kerala. We are witnessing a historic moment,” he said, The Hindu reported. 

Vijayan said that the government has spent over Rs 1,000 crore for the implementation of the scheme. 

With PTI inputs